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Liberia: The nation founded by the USA

Liberia had not been in the international spotlight since its two deadly civil wars left profound human and economic damages between the late 90’s, and up until the year 2003, when the second Liberian civil war finally came to an end. Lately, however, the small West African nation has had all eyes on its ferocious fight against Ebola, which has claimed the lives of thousands and has threatened to de-stabilize the political and economic outlook of the already impoverished and fragile nation.

While Liberia battles to stay away from the eye of the storm, not surprisingly the international community has been asked to step in to help solve the emergency. However, among Liberians and other international actors, one country has more responsibility than others: the United States.

Liberia gained its independence in 1847 and became the world’s second black republic after Haiti. However, its historical ties to the United States remain in the memory of those Liberians who have been shaped by the legacies left behind by the Americans. The Republic of Liberia has been dubbed in the past as “America’s stepchild”, and this is no coincidence, as Liberia was actually founded by the United States in the early 1800’s.

Under the command of the American Colonization Society (ACS), -an organization supported by US former president Thomas Jefferson-, a group of Americans decided that it was time for free African Americans to return to their African homeland. According to the US Department of State’s Office of the Historian website, the founding of the ACS came as a way “to deal with the “problem” of the growing number of free blacks in the United States by resettling them in Africa”. Thus, more than 200 years after the first slave ships sailed from Africa, the descendants of those who had been taken as slaves to the new world found their way back to their “homeland”.

As the new settlement for free slaves was taking place in Liberia in the early 1800’s, back in the United States, the institution of slavery remained profitable up until its formal end in 1865. This scenario helped spark speculation behind the real motifs of the ACS’s approach to Liberia. To some, Liberia was the opportunity to finally live free and fully emancipated; to others it was a sign that the United States feared that the institution of slavery would be endangered (in economic terms) due to the increasing number of black free men and women living in the US.

Whatever reasons there were behind the establishment of Liberia, the impact that the United States had on this tiny country is undeniable. Once the ACS granted Liberia with its independence, -as one would expect-, the country became deeply divided along ethnic lines. For instance, those who had come from America (around 13,000 people) became known as Americo-Liberians, and quickly became the dominant minority among the local population. For more than 133 years since Liberia’s independence, Americo-Liberians ruled the country, practiced their cultural and religious beliefs, and reproduced in many ways their American way of life in their new home.

Today, Liberia’s capital, Monrovia (named after US President James Monroe) stands as a reminder of a legacy that permeates into the history, culture, politics, and economics of a country that is known today as an epicenter of a global health emergency. Liberia, however, is much more than an epidemic; it is cultural richness, an increasingly dynamic economy, and a nation that survived two deadly civil wars.

And, while it is a good moment to recall history, it is not enough to point the finger at the responsibilities the United States might have with Liberia due to its historical ties with the African country (which are undoubtedly significant); instead, it is necessary to value the amazing transformation that a country that had once been so broken by civil wars and ethnic divides was able to make almost on its own. Hence, now it is time to step into Liberia, as an international community devoted to the promise of human rights and global security for all, looking back at the flaws in order to never repeat the same mistakes again, and most importantly, never losing sight that we must remain hopeful for the future to come.